In Memphis, federal immigration enforcement efforts are increasingly overlapping routine local policing. This has created uncertainty for immigrant communities and raises concerns about due process and civil rights.
On this week's WKNO/Channel 10's "Behind the Headlines," host Eric Barnes spoke with Casey Bryant, executive director of Advocates for Immigrant Rights, and Gisela Guerrero, lead organizer with MICAH, alongside Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries, about the scope and impact of federal immigration activity in the city.
"Advocates for Immigrant Rights is a non-profit, immigration law firm. We represent people before the immigration court. And we do removal defense and detain offense. Basically, we advocate for people's rights to remain in the United States under the law," Bryant said.
Guerrero described MICAH as "a Memphis interfaith coalition for action and hope," noting its work extends beyond immigration to "education, public housing, public transit, and of course the criminal legal system."
The discussion focused on the increasing presence of federal agents within a multi-agency task force that includes local and state law enforcement. Bryant said no reliable public data show how many people are being detained for immigration purposes versus for criminal charges. Still, she estimated that "as of just a couple of days ago, I think there were about 325 people in the West Tennessee detention facility, most of whom had been detained through this task force."
According to Bryant and Guerrero, federal agents from various agencies—beyond just Immigration and Customs Enforcement—are now involved in traffic stops initiated by local police or state troopers. Guerrero explained that these agents may either ride along with police or respond to incidents after the stops are radioed, resulting in multiple federal vehicles arriving at the scene.
"We have seen actual agents ride in the passenger side with the troopers, MPD, but we have also seen where… a couple of other vehicles will show up at a traffic stop," Guerrero said.
Both guests expressed concerns about what they described as pretextual traffic stops, in which minor violations led to immigration questioning. Guerrero mentioned that individuals have been stopped for reasons as trivial as "not yielding at a green light," followed by immediate inquiries about their immigration status.
"When we think about due process unreasonable searches, unreasonable questioning does not fall into due process. And that is just at the traffic stop," she said.
Bryant added that overlapping authorities between agencies blur accountability. "We have these agencies… piggybacking off each others authority. And then they have different authorities and interests in law enforcement and it becomes all the lines are blurred for who is supposed to do what and what rules apply."
Once detained, individuals are often transferred far from Memphis. According to Bryant, people are typically moved through temporary facilities in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi before arriving at one of ten detention centers in Louisiana. She described this system as being designed to limit access to attorneys and family members.
"It is by design that the logistics of the housing and transporting and holding people is all over the place so that they can't access adequately legal representation or their families," Bryant said.
Guerrero also discussed the role of Vecindarios 901, a volunteer-run group that responds to reports of immigration enforcement activity. "Vecindarios 901 is a 100 % volunteer run organization… that has focus on providing a hotline immigrants in the community," she said, adding that volunteers document interactions, watch for civil rights violations, and provide support to families.
When asked how to respond to claims that detained individuals are undocumented, Bryant emphasized the complexity of immigration law. "Just because someone may be here without documentation, number one doesn't make them illegal people and number two doesn't mean that they don't have a lawful path towards some kind of legal status in the United States," she said.
Both guests questioned whether immigration enforcement tied to broader crime-reduction efforts ultimately undermines public safety. Guerrero pointed to the scale of pretextual stops in Memphis, saying, "We've seen more than 47,000 pretextual traffic stops in our city, and the number of arrests that are happening warrant-based arrest is only about 1,200."
Bryant warned that the tradeoff could be lasting. "Are we willing to sacrifice the rights that we have as individuals in this country so that we can have a militarized city?" she asked.